Help!!!!! Christmas gift emergency!!!!

[Dkulhanek]

So, I've been chip carving an anniversary plaque for my parents as their Christmas present this year. I am carving into basswood. While carving, I was carving an accent device right in the middle of the piece and it hunked off. I got home from work tonight and was prepared to fix the boo boo, sand, and urethane the piece to prepare for staining. So I sat down in my favorite carving chair and tried to fix it. And kept trying to fix it, and kept trying to fix it, until I saw light through the bottom. I cut so deep I went all the way through!!! I have been working on this piece for 3 months and I reeeeeaaally don't want to scrap it. Can I fill it in with wood filler? Wood putty? Can I recut it after I fill it? Can I hide this big boo boo with the stain? HELP please!!!!

[chipmunk]

hi, not sure if u broke apiece out or u just carved though the bottom u may beable to add a pc. of plywood to the bottom of the work so it willn't be so thin if u tring to glue a pc. titebond is good glue or goralla glue is a little better wet 1 side a/ glue that may hole the pc. that broke out w/ no pics. its hard to see how to fix it hope this helps!

[papasar]

Do you have the chip that fits the hole?
If yes, you can put a very small amount of Elmer"s white glue and replace the chip.
Hold in place about 4 minutes. Re-cut the chip in a couple of hours. You will not notice the repair if you use white glue.
If you lost the chip - you can draw the patter of the lost chip on a piece of scrap basswood and cut and fit it into the hole. Glue as above and after glue is dry, if necessary, sand lightly to make surface even. Then re-cut it.
How thick is the plaque? If its 1/2 inch or more, either your holding the knife at too steep an angle or the pattern at that point is too wide which tempt you to cut too deep.
Hope this helps.
Bill K.

[kdispoto]

Can you post a photo of how it looks right now?

[Dkulhanek]

Unfortunately, I can't post the picture right now. I'm working off my iPhone. I did not go all the way through the bottom, I just started seeing light and stopped. I was doing this rather late last night and was tired and when I realized I was cutting too steep it was too late.

[Dkulhanek]

It's one inch wood and the chip is a horizontal diamond shape that's about 5 inches long and 1 inch wide. Would using wood filler and recutting be too obvious? I don't have any of the old chips. Since I was trying to fix a previous mistake it was just shavings.

[papasar]

One inch wide is pretty difficult. You really have to hold your knife at an extreme angle to span that width. Try my second method listed above. Cut another chip , stick it in and sand it. You can tell if it will work after you cut the chip. I only use white glue to avoid swelling.
Bill K.

[Hooked on Carving]

A little late, but I'll give you some help! Wood fill won't match the color and an epoxy called Quikwood will also come out a little darker. Here's a woodworkers secret. Make your own wood fill with left over basswood from your cutout or an extra piece of basswood from your shop that matches it. Get a palm or machine sander and sand the left over piece and save the sawdust, about a two inch mound of dust. Next get a sheet of wax paper and dump the sawdust onto the wax paper and mix in slowly some yellow wood glue like Titebond or Elmers Carpenter glue 3-6 drops, stay away from Gorilla glue, its more brown than yellow. You should come out with a wood filler that will match your wood.

[Dkulhanek]

Well, thank you everyone with your suggestions. I ended up dumping a lot of wood filler into the bottom of the hole and custom cutting a new chip to put over the wood filler. Then, I let it dry and reshaped the cut with my Dremel tool and it looks perfect. Here's a picture of the final product.

[TreeWizard]

30Th anniversary is Pearl (traditional) or diamond (modern). Maybe you could mount a fake pearl or diamond in the problem area.